On Monday August 29, 2022, at 8:30 p.m. members of the Colorado Springs Police Department, Gold Hill Division, were dispatched to the 2700 block of South Circle Drive to investigate a traffic crash involving a motorcycle that struck a truck.
Once officers arrived on scene it was discovered that a Ford Ranger truck was driving east in the 2700 block of south Circle Drive and was trying to make a left turn into a parking lot. The first two lanes of westbound South Circle Drive traffic were stopped, and witnesses waived the driver of the Ranger through to complete the left turn. The Ranger crossed the first two lanes of westbound traffic, and upon entering the third lane it was struck by a motorcycle that was heading westbound.
After the motorcycle struck the Ford Ranger, the motorcycle fell over and burst into flames. The driver of the motorcycle was treated for life threatening injuries on scene by members of CSFD and AMR. The driver of the motorcycle was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Due to the nature of the crash the Major Crash Team responded to the scene to assume the investigation.
On Tuesday August 30, 2022, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy of the motorcycle rider. The motorcycle rider has been identified as 38-year-old David Melendy of Colorado Springs. This is the 34th fatal traffic crash this year. 16 of those crashes have involved motorcycles. At this same time last year there were 35 fatal traffic crashes in Colorado Springs.